FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2002

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OPIC SHOWCASES POTENTIAL INVESTMENT IN SERBIA FOR U.S. COMPANIES

Business conference draws over 50 US companies

OPIC Executive Vice President Ross Connelly addresses participants of US-Serbia business conference in Belgrade.

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Successful completion of its economic reform program will encourage a new era of U.S. investment in Serbia, Ross Connelly, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) said today at the conclusion of a U.S.-Serbia business conference. 

“Serbia is at the heart of the new South East Europe Free Trade Area, a dynamic emerging market of 60 million people in eight countries, and has a great entrepreneurial spirit to offer U.S. investors,” Connelly said. “OPIC is confident that continued adherence to economic reforms will stimulate increased levels of investment. We encourage both Federal and republic governments to see the reforms through to their conclusion, so that all its citizens may benefit from future economic growth.”            

The two-day OPIC forum, Succeeding in Serbia: A U.S.-Serbia Business Opportunities Conference, enabled more than fifty American companies in the region to hear leading Serb and U.S. officials describe reform efforts, the investment climate, and U.S. government programs available to American companies interested in investing in Serbia. Dr. Vojislav Kostunica, President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Dr. Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, addressed the conference, which was organized in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Yugoslavia.

U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) William D. Montgomery called the conference “another demonstration of the Bush Administration’s commitment to supporting democracy and the development of a free market system. We encourage Serbia to continue its impressive progress on economic reforms, and look forward to working with OPIC and other agencies to raise the level of U.S. investment.”

Connelly noted that Serbia has begun a course of actions to establish the kind of investment climate foreign investors need to see, including stability of the monetary situation, improved fiscal accountability, trade liberalization, initiation of privatizations, and amendments to legal and regulatory frameworks.  “I am encouraged by these sustained efforts to establish a good investment climate,” he said.

Conference participants attended panel discussions on government, financial and business reforms, American investors’ experience in Serbia, investment opportunities, and programs offered by OPIC, the Commerce Department and the Export-Import Bank of the United States to facilitate investment. Speakers included top Serbian government ministers, U.S. embassy officials, local U.S. business executives, and senior OPIC staff and board members.

Connelly said the conference was the latest in several recent OPIC initiatives designed to raise the investment profile of Serbia and the region. 

OPIC concluded a new bilateral agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in July 2001, a milestone event in OPIC’s efforts to support investment in Yugoslavia and southeastern Europe.

Historically, OPIC has committed $98 million in political risk insurance and financing to 18 projects in Serbia, primarily in the tourism, manufacturing, services and agricultural sectors. Currently, OPIC has committed $8.8 million in political risk insurance to Hyatt International for the Hyatt Regency Belgrade hotel, the site of the conference. 

In addition, the OPIC-supported $200 million Soros Investment Capital, Ltd. Fund has acquired a controlling stake in Eksimbanka, a private commercial bank in Serbia which provides a broad range of commercial banking products, including trade and term financing to small and medium-sized enterprises; and financed the start-up of Serbia Broadband Networks, the leading cable television and broadband services company in Serbia.

OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

OPIC’s political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency’s 30-year history, OPIC has supported $142 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over $11 billion in host-government revenues and create over 673,000 host-country jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $64 billion in U.S. exports and create more than 253,000 American jobs.